Unforgivable
by Zogeta
Summary: Goku hands down judgement on Vegeta, and the Prince of Saiyans finds himself immortal in a way he had never wished for. It'll take someone unlikely to help the Prince, and to face the consequences of doing so.
1. Chapter 1

Unforgivable chapter 1

By Zogeta

Summary: Goku hands down judgement, and Vegeta finds himself immortal in a way he'd never wanted. It will up to someone entirely different to put things right. But how can this ever be made right?

Various warnings etc: Teen rating: lemons will be posted at the Saiyan Hideaway.

**************************************

AN: This is to thank all those who continue to favourite my works and send reviews in spite of my absence. Should this get a decent response, I'll continue working on it.

-Z

******

It had been months since Majin Buu, but Vegeta couldn't figure out why Kakarot wanted absolutely nothing to do with him. Every invitation to sparring was ignored, and even at the occasional Capsule Corp gatherings, Kakarot would find some way to avoid being alone with Vegeta, usually by surrounding himself with the friends he knew Vegeta couldn't stand.

It had taken a year, but finally Vegeta had managed to corner Kakarot, if only for a few minutes. The younger Saiyan was dragging a dinosaur carcass back to his home for his shrill, but not entirely useless, wife to cook. Vegeta landed in front of him, grabbing his wrist and keeping him from teleportation.

"Kakarot."

"Dammit, Vegeta. What do you want from me?"

Kakarot tried to pull his wrist free, but Vegeta held on, and his frown deepened.

"Why have you been avoiding me?"

"It doesn't matter, Vegeta, just –"

"It does, Kakarot! And look me in the eye at least. You look like Trunks did when he accidentally smashed the console in my gravity chamber."

Vegeta waited, and Kakarot's eyes soon met his, narrowing with unmistakable dislike.

_Maybe this had been a poor idea._

"I don't like you. I never have, and after seeing inside your head, I don't want to even be near you. Ever since we were fused, I've had nightmares nearly every night because of what I saw! I had thought that maybe you were just misguided and maybe the legends were exaggerated, but I know now how sick you are inside, Vegeta. You're a sadistic, twisted murderer and rapist! And I want no part of anything resembling friendship with filth like you. You are evil, and _unforgivable_! Leave me alone, and go do something constructive with your life while you have time."

Vegeta's grip loosened and Kakarot pulled his arm away, wiping it off on his gi pants before he stalked past the silent prince. Vegeta sighed, and took to the air.

"Then goodbye it is, Kakarot. For good."

***

It hadn't taken long for the curse to set in. Vegeta had always known about the very deep and irreversible curses of his people, as potent as their power and as bitter as their rage. He had always hoped that he would never have to experience the absolute law of Saiyan blood. Until Kakarot, he had been more powerful than any other Saiyan, and thus free from the curses of weaker Saiyans. But Kakarot outstripped him in power, to the extent that Vegeta had found his respect for it tainted with fear. Anyone stronger than him had meant pain and torture, and he had had no reason to believe that Kakarot would not use his amazing strength to possibly inflict the worst curse on the only other full-blood Saiyan, even accidentally. He knew that the younger Saiyan had likely had no idea what he had done.

Vegeta watched the runes burn themselves into his skin, his entire body soon wrapped in them, though only a few appeared on his face, running along his left cheekbone and stopping at the inner corner of his right eye. Now he was marked, and had he been on his home planet, he would have been thrown out of the cities and left to die in the terrible wild, a place more dangerous than most places in the universe. A fate befitting one that was Unforgivable.

Sitting in the entrance to his small cave far away from people, Vegeta mourned. He had never intended to torment Kakarot, one of the few people that had showed him any real kindness or mercy. He had only wanted to make up for so many wasted years by serving as the best sparring partner possible, since he knew he would make a poor friend due to his emotional retardation. Frieza had been a useless father figure, after all. He had only wanted to prove that he wasn't evil anymore, that he was trying to be someone to be proud of. Not someone so abhorrent that they deserved to be banished.

In a twisted way, Vegeta had gotten his immortality. He could not kill himself and free himself from the curse. He could not go within a fair distance of other Saiyans, and it destroyed him that he would not be able to spar with his son, or take him for lunch or to a movie, like he had promised. The curse waited for no sentiment, and had taken root moments after Kakarot had uttered the necessary prompts for it. Vegeta had been robbed of his goodbyes and family, but he knew that he deserved it. The curse would never have worked if he was entirely blameless.

And so marked as a sinner beyond any form of redemption or friendship, Vegeta began what felt like yet another life, though this one would likely prove to be tougher than any other before it.


	2. 2: Investigation

2: Investigation

"What is this thing?!"

Gohan jumped out of the way of a flailing, whip-like limb, tossing an energy blast at it only for it to bounce off and nearly kill Krillin. Piccolo floated above it, trying to find weak points of some sort, but all he could see was red hide and hundreds of thin whips. It was an ugly creature, but it was also resistant to their attacks, and it had already killed a family camping out in the forest by strangling and digesting them. Goku dived and pulled Goten out of the way, the thin arm snaring in on air instead of his son's neck.

"Goten! Get out of here! This thing is dangerous!"

"But, Dad! Let me help! Trunks and I can fuse and beat this thing!"

Goku threw a destructo disk, slicing off a few arms only for them to regrow instantly. "Not this time, kiddo. Gotenks may be powerful, but that's not what we need right now! Go to Capsule Corp and stay with Trunks! Go!"

Goten, not wanting to test his father, decided that retreat was the better part of valour and he was soon arcing through the sky, his energy leaving long vapour trails. The remaining fighters took to the air, circling the bizarre creature but unable to stop its slow progress to the city where it doubtless sensed energy. Goku was about to try block its path with boulders when his ki senses twitched, and he turned around to see Vegeta approaching, his arm encased in a ki blade. It had been six months since he had seen the other Saiyan, and those tattoos were new. Vegeta roared and stabbed the blade into the back of the creature, his energy somehow piercing through it and exploding, vaporising the creature from the inside. Gohan swooped down, smiling broadly.

"Wow, Vegeta! That was great! We've been trying to beat that thing for hours now! I bet you've seen…seen them…why are you bleeding?"

Vegeta grunted as the runes heated up and scorched his skin, seeming to tighten like so many bands around him and determined to bleed him to death. Nausea welled up in his throat and he swallowed against it and the pain.

"Just an inconvenient curse, Gohan. Acts up whenever I am near Saiyans. I recognise this creature, had to kill a few on a planet purge. You simply have to match your energy with its and use a piercing ki attack rather than an ordinary blast."

He scrunched his eyes shut as the pain intensified in warning of his infraction, and he wasn't sure if he was going to puke or pass out. Hopefully one before the other. "I have to go, but tell Trunks I'm sorry, and that I miss him."

Before Gohan could reply, Vegeta blasted away, leaving behind a puddle of blood and a confused Gohan. The teenager floated up towards his father, who was scratching his head.

"At least now I have something to tell Trunks. Poor kid has been devastated by his father's disappearance."

Goku was silent for a moment, looking at the scattered remains of the monster. "So, what's up with Vegeta?"

Gohan frowned, folding his arms. "He said he has some curse…it won't let him near Saiyans. Gods, you should have seen him bleeding, Dad. The markings on his skin turned red and started hurting him. It must have taken considerable will for him to put up with it just to come help us."

Goku said nothing, swallowing hard. Gohan, slightly puzzled by this, leaned towards his father. "Dad?"

"Hmm?"

"Did you not hear what I said?"

Goku's frown dissolved, and he smiled. "Of course I did, Gohan. I was just wondering how Vegeta got cursed."

"I wonder too," mused Gohan. "I'm going to ask Baba about it. Maybe she knows something."

Goku nodded, feeling somewhat uneasy about the whole situation. Something buried very deep was whispering, but he could not understand it, and the discrepancy bothered him. Especially since he felt, for some bizarre reason, that he was the one who had cursed Vegeta. But that was impossible! While the Saiyan had encountered magic in his life, he had never learnt to wield it, and had no idea how he would have been able to restrict Vegeta so.

_Well, he deserves it. _

"I'll see you later, Dad. Tell Mom I'll be home in time for supper, with luck."

"Alright, son."

Gohan waved and turned away, frowning as he took to the air. Vegeta, for all his high-handedness and general prickliness, had been something of a mentor figure to Gohan over the last seven years. It had been Vegeta and Piccolo who had helped him grieve. It had been the two unlikely allies who had been at his side when everyone else had gone on, used to Goku's disappearances. Vegeta had been the one to teach him to master Super Saiyan two. It had been Piccolo who had dragged him out of his bedroom to get out and stop moping. The two had helped him raise Goten, and Vegeta's knowledge had been so invaluable that ChiChi had even befriended the surly warrior. He truly could not bear to see Vegeta in so much pain and not help. What bothered him as well was his father's apparent indifference.

Slowing in mid-air, he let the thought sink in. Now that he thought about it, his father had not sparred with Vegeta once since they defeated Kid Buu last year. Until that point, he knew his father had wanted a spar with the other Saiyan. So what had changed? It was not like his father to hold grudges, to ignore people and to let them suffer. Surely he had known something was wrong when Vegeta had disappeared? Trunks had been out of his mind with worry and fear ever since, and Gohan had been left with two distraught boys who had lost 'Uncle' somewhere on the planet. Goten admired Vegeta so for taking the time to train him alongside Trunks and the Son boys had both missed their stubborn teacher.

His frown deepening, Gohan kicked up his speed, heading to the old witch's house to hopefully find some answers that would help him save Vegeta.

***

Vegeta heaved again, on his hands and knees as bile and blood dripped from the corners of his mouth, the runes burning hotter than any star in the universe as they punished him for challenging the curse. His clothes were soaked red and his eyes were scrunched tight as he flinched with the pain that seemed to crush his brain with the inside of his skull. But Vegeta was no stranger to pain, had made it so a part of his being that he could not live without it. His injuries had become so integral that he had created a fighting style that would not aggravate them. No, the pain would pass, and he would be able to move again.

It was being so close to others, and not being able to stay, that so broke him. Seeing Gohan, the boy he was so proud of, and not being able to stand up straight before him. Seeing Kakarot, the Saiyan he had almost killed himself to impress. Had actually died for to earn his approval. He had stooped before them, crippled with pain, and the shame was brighter than the pain behind his eyes. Shame that he was so evil and so irredeemable that the universe saw fit to mark him as untouchable.

Slowly, so slowly, he lowered himself to the ground, resting on his side and taking slow breaths. He closed his eyes and drew on good memories to immerse himself in. He thought of the very first time he'd held a tiny Trunks in his arms, a tired but happy Bulma at his side and a wet purple tail wrapping around his wrist. He had been the first thing those amazing blue eyes had seen, and something had slammed through him with enough force that he was quite breathless. He thought of the lumpy and badly-iced cake Goten and Trunks had made for him with his likeness made from sweets on the top for his last birthday. He thought of when Gohan had finally mastered the monstrous power of Super Saiyan two, and the boy's gratitude for his guidance. How proud he was of that boy, of all the boys, and how he would not be able to tell them that with all the insults, the challenges, he had only wanted to push them to their limits, not push them away.

And unbidden came the bad memories, and he tried to stem the flood but the ghosts swarmed him, and he was lost again to his curse as he slowly bled into the fresh grass around him.

***

"Gohan? What brings you here, boy?"

Gohan dipped his head, scratching the back of it and hoping his "I'm a Son and so cute you could die" thing would work.

"Hi, Baba-san! Look, sorry to intrude, I just need some help and you're the only person I could think of."

She nodded, turning around and shuffling into her abode. "Come in, then."

Bending slightly as he entered the doorway, Gohan was reminded of his namesake's modest one room home. The crystal ball sat in a corner on a worn purple cushion next to a bookshelf loaded with heavy books marked with runes not of any Earth language he knew of. There was a tiny bed and a small chest of drawers. A window with a small pot-plant on its sill lent some light and colour to the room. And for some inexplicable reason, there was the traditional smell of cats.

"Sit, boy. What can I assist you with?" she said, hopping up onto her bed.

Gohan didn't want to seem too familiar, so he knelt near her feet, clasping his hands in his lap.

"Well, Ma'am, it seems that Vegeta has a curse, and –"

"Ah, so you noticed." She nodded, steepling her fingers. "I wonder why no one else seemed to notice the severe disturbance in his energy, though I thought Goku would be the one to seek my help. Piccolo is too proud to ask me: it is impossible that he would have missed it in his meditation."

Gohan brightened. "Then you know what the solution is?"

"No, child. But as much as I don't like the arrogant hot-head, he needs to be able to function properly if he is to help protect the planet. I also fear for the stability of his mind: if he loses his grip, then we will have a serious problem on our hands that may be tougher than any before."

The Saiyan slumped, and sighed. "Damn."

"I was contemplating going to Otherworld to start gathering information: there are archives there that I can access that may provide us with an answer. Even if the Saiyans weren't fabulous academics, they were a popular subject of study by the gods and other planets."

She hopped down from the bed and went towards the crystal ball. "You must excuse me, Gohan: I need to begin my travels as soon as possible if I am to find a solution."

He hurried to his feet and bowed. "Of course! Thank you so much, Baba! I knew you'd be able to help!"

She smiled, her wrinkles deepening around her eyes. "I am glad that Vegeta is not entirely alone on this planet."

Gohan walked out of the house behind Baba, and waved.

"I've got a few more people to visit: I hope to hear from you soon."

"Go along now, boy," she said, hovering upwards and settling herself on her crystal ball, smoothing her robes out. "I will contact you as soon as I have news."

She disappeared before he could say anything, and Gohan found himself alone in the forest clearing where Baba's small stone dwelling stood. He shot upwards, spiralling as he broke through the forest roof, hovering in mid-air and letting the gentle autumn sun warm him. He closed his eyes as he threw out his senses, breathing slowly as he scanned the planet. His family was gathered together in the far east, Piccolo a few miles away to the north. He frowned as he tried to find Vegeta, but sensed nothing. Was he dead? Panic turned his heart into an icicle, then he calmed as something occurred to him.

_Baba had commented that no one else had sensed his energy besides Piccolo…and Vegeta said the curse acts up around Saiyans…could it be that he has been removed from all Saiyan communication and senses?_

Now that he thought about it, the boys had been trying to find Vegeta when they could get off school and homework, and he doubt that anything short of the supernatural would have thwarted them. He threw his senses towards the north west, and could faintly detect Bulma's energy, barely noticeable next to Trunks' blaze. Gohan knew he should go home and be the dutiful son, but he wanted to help Vegeta. Besides, his father hadn't quite been the same since he came back, and the fighting between his parents made life less than agreeable sometimes. He was glad that Goten knew that escape was perfectly fine and far better for his health.

Gohan flared his energy and sped towards Capsule Corp, intending to ask Bulma a few questions, and to collect Goten and take him home for dinner.

_Or maybe we should just stay there._

He shook his head, then kicked up his speed with a mere flex of his will, shooting across the sky in an arc of white energy.


	3. 3: Twitch

3. Twitch

"Goku, honey? I need some help: we're low on firewood, and I'd love it if you'd make up a small pile for me."

Goku paused in the middle of his kata, then sighed as he stepped out of his stance, dropping his hands to the side. "Be right there," he replied, walking round to the back of the house where felled tree trunks stood. He went to the pile, picking up a giant log with one hand, the other on his hip.

"Isn't this Gohan's chore?" asked Goku, spotting Chichi at the back door.

She wiped her hands on her apron, tilting her head to the side. "Well, he has been busy of late: he's working so hard to try get into medicine and I didn't want to disturb him for something I know you can easily do."

He put the trunk on the grass, then went over to the axe embedded in a tree stump. "But I want to train, Chichi."

She allowed herself the luxury of counting to ten before she replied.

"Goku, med school is so important to Gohan. He wants to help people and I won't stand in the way of that. The entrance exams are in two weeks' time and he has to make up for all the school he missed while he was helping me raise Goten."

Goku rankled at the underlying message: _because __you weren't there_.

"I did say I was sorry for staying dead, Chichi. Look at how peaceful it was when I was gone: the day I came back everything went wrong."

She watched him chop the tree up, the axe going through the six foot thick trunk as though it were butter.

"I know, Goku. I just wish you'd stop taking it so personally every time I ask you for help. With Vegeta gone, Piccolo AWOL and the boys leaving the house every moment they can, I don't have anyone else."

Goku paused, straightening up, the axe hanging at his side. "Wait, what? What does Vegeta have to do with this? Or Piccolo?"

Chichi smiled and leaned against the doorjamb. "Vegeta helped Gohan survive his own power, and Piccolo helped him grieve. Between those two, they helped me around the house and with the boys. Vegeta knew so much about Saiyan babies that he was invaluable when it came to raising Goten, who was just so much more powerful and restless as a baby compared to Gohan. Piccolo used to enter tournaments and give all the money to Gohan, claiming he had no use for it. Gohan used it to pay for fees and groceries. I don't know if I would have made it without their help."

Goku dropped the axe, sitting heavily on what remained of the tree trunk with his hands dangling between his knees. "Wait, are we talking about the same Saiyan? I can kind of see Piccolo chipping in, but Vegeta? He can't see past his own aura, never mind help anyone else, **least** of all hated 'Kakarot's' family."

Chichi frowned, folding her arms. "Vegeta didn't just walk in here and become my bosom best friend forever, Goku. He knew that Gohan's new power would destroy him and possibly the planet if he didn't learn to harness it. When he found out I was pregnant with Goten, and consequently about another member of his beloved race, he decided that I, 'the shrew', needed to be watched in order to ensure Goten would survive to term. He was gruff and difficult most of the time, but he _tried_, Goku. Piccolo and Vegeta would take the boys off my hands and take them sparring, giving me time to rest. They would help me with food by hunting. By and by, they became my friends when no one else was bothered."

She sat on the step, her toes wiggling in the grass. "Bulma did her part to help, but the rest of our friends fell away when you died. That's when I realised that they were only your friends and that I had to turn to unlikely sources. But what concerns me is your problem with Vegeta. Goku…since when were you so hard on him? This isn't like you. Every time Vegeta came round you rebuffed him, and Piccolo has stopped visiting as well. They're my friends, Goku. My only real friends. I deserve to know why you're treating Vegeta the way you do. He isn't a bad man."

"As far as _you_ know," said Goku, gathering the wood into a pile. "I shared a mind and body with him, Chichi. I know him better than you ever will. He was _evil_, just like Frieza, and Cell, and everyone else I've had to fight. He did such terrible things before he came to Earth, and it hurt me to realise that I had forgiven him so many times and he didn't deserve it. He killed half a stadium to get my attention, and allied himself with Babidi to get even with me. He released Buu and is directly responsible for all the shit that ensued that day."

Goku's face fell further. "He let Cell become perfect. He is responsible for me dying and missing out on everything that happened in seven years. I missed the birth of my son and lost my family. Vegeta has caused me more pain than is worth mentioning."

Chichi knew she often yelled for the silliest of things, but she felt that strong words would not be amiss here. She stood up, and clenched her fists at her side.

"Goku. You had a choice to come back. You didn't. You never acknowledged Vegeta's power, forcing him into the shameful desperation that led to Majin Buu and Cell. And now here you stand, whining about the bad choices you made that you have made Vegeta's fault. If you knew _anything_ of what he has become in the time you were gone, you would know he has changed, and that he is trying to make a better man of himself. He is a dedicated father and mentor and has wanted nothing more than to prove himself in your eyes. He _mourned_ you, Goku. So much so that he stopped training for two years."

She turned away, and Goku saw the anger that tensed her back and whitened her knuckles.

"Don't you _ever_ speak of Vegeta like that in front of me again, Goku. He is the reason Gohan is still alive and so powerful and helped this family survive after you left us to go train."

With that she slammed the door behind her, leaving Goku alone and hunched in the twilight.

***

Gohan smiled as he landed on the lawn in front of Capsule Corp, unnoticed by Goten and Trunks as they hurled snowballs at each other. Gohan upped his energy to avoid freezing and quickly went through the front door, almost bumping into Kami's own gift to Saiyans.

"Gohan, you handsome man! Welcome!"

"Hi, Mrs. Briefs! How are you?"

She smiled and kissed him on both cheeks before clasping her hands in front of her chest and leaning back on her heels. "Well enough, I suppose. I have been somewhat bored since that gorgeous Vegeta left…no man has ever had his eloquence when it comes to describing my food. Do you know where he is?"

He stepped back, still somewhat disturbed by how she managed to leer at him while smiling brightly like that. "Well, I'm here to talk to Bulma about that: I'm looking for him at the moment."

"Oh, that's great! Can I offer you anything to take with you to her lab? I baked quadruple chocolate cake this morning – inspired by that lovely Nigella Lawson, of course – I'm sure you'd love some."

He smiled and nodded. "I'd like that very much, ma'am."

He was hustled along to the kitchen, where half a cake was lovingly cut and put on a plate. He was then directed towards Bulma three floors down. He ate all but one slice before he got to the password-controlled door to Bulma's steel echelons. He pressed a button on the intercom.

"Bulma? It's me, Gohan. Can I come in?"

"Be right there!" chirped Time Magazine's Woman of the Century, before the doors opened to reveal her in a two-piece suit, lab coat and looking both amazingly good and distantly sad.

He held out the chocolate cake with a smile. "For my aunt."

She thwapped him on the shoulder. "Hush, sweetie. You make me sound old. Come in, sorry about the mess…android collapsed all over the place."

He followed her in, making sure he stepped clear of the door before it slid closed. Bulma collapsed into her wheelie chair, sending it rolling back a foot.

"What brings you here, kiddo? Not bad news, I hope."

Gohan sat on the floor, crossing his legs and folding his hands in his lap. "Besides coming to fetch Goten for dinner, I thought I'd ask you about Vegeta. Um, I saw him today, he came to help us out with that alien I called you about earlier."

"He's still alive! Thank god, Gohan. I was so worried…"

"Bulma?"

She leaned forward in her chair, biting the tip of her thumb, her gaze dropped to the gleaming blue tiles. "I thought he was dead. When he sacrificed himself to defeat Buu, I felt something echo through my heart. I just _knew_ then that he was dead. And then, a few hours after he told me he was going to 'sort things out with Kakarot', I felt the same thing. Then Trunks and Goten came running in here and they told me that they couldn't sense him at all."

She ran a hand through her hair with a sigh. "I tried everything, Gohan. We got Piccolo to check with Enma if Vegeta was dead. The boys disappeared for days trying to find him, and we can't use any of the dragonballs yet because of the wishes we made after that awful Buu debacle. What really destroys me, though, is that Vegeta was just trying to make things right with Goku when he disappeared, and it seems now that he won't have a chance."

Gohan reached forward and took her hands in his, squeezing them gently. "I'm going to make it all right, Bulma. Baba has gone to consult the libraries and archives in the Otherworld…she thinks there's a cure for whatever curse Vegeta has that makes him invisible to Saiyans and unable to withstand their presence. I'm going to Piccolo now to see what he can do. We'll get your husband back!"

Bulma chuckled nervously. "Um, Gohan…Vegeta and I aren't married. We just have a strong parent bond because of Trunks. Oh, honey, don't look so awkward…I was married to my work, he was married to training. It was never going to work in a marital sense, but he is still important to me as both my friend and as Trunks' father."

Her face fell. "It's just especially tragic that he's disappeared when he was trying his hardest to be a good friend to Goku and really make it up to him."

Gohan pushed to his feet and hugged Bulma. "I'll do my very best: I miss him too and want to bring him back from wherever he is."

She stood up, her hands falling into the pockets of her lab coat as she smiled. "I know you will, Gohan. If anyone can, you're the best bet. Have you asked Goku to help you?"

He didn't think he could bear to tell her that his father didn't seem to care very much about what happened to Vegeta. "I'm going to ask him tonight…I'd thought I'd go to him when I had information to work with."

"That's a good idea. You have my number…please call me if something comes up or if I can help at all."

"Sure thing, Bulma. Sorry to have disturbed you."

She waved this off. "You're one of my adopted sons, kiddo. You could call me at 5am and I wouldn't be bothered."

He grinned, letting her lead him to the door. "I know. I'll be in touch as soon as I have information."

"Alright, Gohan. Good luck."

AN: The ooc continues! In the next chapter, Goku gets tons of screen time and all will make sense, I hope. Thank you for the reviews!


	4. 4: Clarification

4. Clarification

Goku sat down in a clearing in the forest close to his home, propping his elbows on his knees and his chin in his palms. He frowned as Chichi's words echoed through his head, and he wondered if the universe had gone mad while he was gone.

But the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. Saiyans were drawn to power…as much as Vegeta might have resented Gohan's strength, it was so like him to try control it. And then there was Goten, and he was amazed by how highly his son thought of 'Ji-san Vegeta'. It seemed that Vegeta had taken both his sons under his tutelage. He couldn't help feeling a little jealous of his boys for getting to train with the one man that Goku had admired for the sheer beauty and intelligence of his fighting. Sparring with his kids had been a surprising challenge, and in their fighting style he saw Vegeta's creativity and Piccolo's efficiency of movement.

What had happened when he was dead? How could he have come back to such a different world to the one he had left behind? So much had changed, and he felt the world had shifted fundamentally under his feet. His wife, who had always pushed his buddies away, had made his two rivals her friends. His kids adored a man who only strung enough words together to either be condescending or demanding. Piccolo had helped his wife sustain her household.

God, how he had failed.

Chichi was right…she nearly always was. He _had_ chosen to leave, to go train. But it had seemed like such a good idea at the time. Gohan would be most capable of defending the planet, and he would be able to get really strong and have the time of his life. He'd never wanted to be tied to a house, and expected to do chores and support a family. He had been clueless eighteen years ago…he wasn't much more informed now. Chichi had just known what to do, and he'd felt useless in the face of her innate ability to do what needed to be done.

In fact, he mused, all the women he knew always knew what to do. Bulma with her ideas and technology, Chichi with her practicality…

He knew how to be strong and save the world…but he knew he was poor husband and father material. And his family _had_ been better off without him. Vegeta and Piccolo had filled most of the gaps and his sons were well-adjusted and Chichi less stressed than he'd ever seen her before.

And then there was Vegeta.

He couldn't help blushing when he thought of the crush he'd had on Vegeta from the moment he met him. He had been so confident and powerful and intelligent…he'd been annoying as hell but he was the headiest drug and Goku had been swamped by it.

_Having a fine ass didn't hurt either, that bastard…_

But after fusing with the loud-mouthed prince, he'd had his heart broken when he'd seen the violence of Vegeta's past, the anger and pain suffered and inflicted. He'd been so disappointed and now he was trying to find ways to justify himself to himself. He'd taken it out on Vegeta, and he'd disappeared months ago.

_And he can't come back either…_

Goku sighed as he pushed to his feet, brushing gold and brown autumn leaves off his gi. He owed Chichi an apology, at the least. The strongest full-blood Saiyan's shoulders slumped as he started walking home.

_Maybe I should go back to Otherworld…then things will be better for everyone._

***

"You're a hard man to find, Vegeta."

Vegeta paused in the middle of washing his gi top in the river, then grinned as Piccolo landed next to him, first on one foot, then the other. He'd always had that weird habit of landing as though the earth was made of thin ice. The Saiyan wrung out the gi, standing up to greet his friend.

"It's not my fault, Namek. Energy is out of tune since I got landed with this stupid curse. Immortal and undetectable. Little bit dangerous for the universe, I'd think. How did you find me?"

Piccolo folded his legs and floated in mid-air. "There's a room on the Lookout called the Chamber of Crystal. It amplifies one's meditations and allowed me to search for your energy signal. I looked for the biggest unidentified energy on the planet and then went towards it. So here I am."

"The 'Chamber of Crystal'? Sounds like one of Trunks' _Yu Gi Oh!_ cards. Not very imaginative people, these Guardians."

Piccolo watched Vegeta go to a fire where a dinosaur leg was roasting, and turn it to make sure it would cook evenly.

"I thought you ate that shit raw."

"Tastes crap that way. Besides, even undercooked dinosaur plays hell with Saiyan insides," said Vegeta. "I learnt that the hard way. Haven't been that sick since Bulma got me drunk at Gohan's sixteenth birthday."

"I remember that. Fortunately, your hair naturally stays well out of your face when you vomit," grinned the Namek.

Vegeta sat down on some grass near the fire, and leaned back on his palms. "Don't remind me. So…what's been going on in the last six months? I feel so out of touch."

Piccolo settled into his air-seat. "I haven't seen Chichi…Goku's been rather twitchy about anyone visiting, including me. I kept up sparring arrangements with the trio though. Goten and Trunks have been nagging me every other day about news from you, but I only managed to refine my search for you yesterday after you came to help us. Gohan is applying to med school, and he'll know next week whether he's been accepted or not. Speaking of whom, he's on a massive search for you and a solution."

"Really? Why though? Surely he's enjoying the time off from the abuse I masquerade as sparring?"

"Vegeta, don't be so obtuse."

"I am not!"

"Yes, you are. Gohan practically worships you…he'd sing your praises if you'd let him."

"Since when have I been averse to anyone praising me?"

A fanged smirk. "Touché."

Vegeta leaned over and adjusted his dinner before flopping backwards, the grass tickling his back. "I still don't see why he'd go out of his way. It's pointless for him to try. There is no reprieve for an Unforgivable, hence the term."

"Back up a moment. What's happened here exactly?"

"So it was just small talk, Namek?"

"You always need softening before an interrogation, Matchstick."

"Fair enough. Where to start…"

Piccolo waited, knowing that Vegeta would talk eventually.

"I…I went to find Kakarot, to find out why he was avoiding me like he was. One of my less spectacular ideas, I must admit." He took a deep breath. "When I confronted him, he was rather explicit about how much he dislikes me, which is understandable, and then handed down the most powerful energy-curse known to Saiyans. It marks me as unforgivable for prior sins and in Saiyan society, I would have been exiled the moment it happened."

"He did this on purpose?"

"No, I doubt it." Vegeta dropped his chin to his chest. "It's not in his nature to punish. He gave Frieza a second chance, after all."

Piccolo heard the quiet pain and avoided Vegeta's eyes, hated how they went grey when he was sad and how they had been like ashes for two years. He let a moment pass, then looked up at this strange friend the universe had sent him. He thought about the seven years he'd shared with this man, how much time they'd spent together raising Gohan, Goten and Trunks, how often Chichi had asked them to stay for dinner and Vegeta looking ridiculous as he washed the resulting dishes with bright yellow gloves.

_Then Goku came back, broke up our group and screwed Vegeta over. _

Piccolo sighed. "Well, Gohan will find a way around this. Until then…keen to spar?"

Vegeta was about to reply when his stomach howled, and then he half-scowled. "I'd best eat, otherwise I'll take a bite out of you. Five minutes, Namek."

They were in the air in two, Vegeta smelling like roast meat and adrenaline.

****

AN: I hope this clears everything up =)

Working on next chapter, constructive criticism welcome.


End file.
